How to convert VCD menus to DVD

[zhakas]

Hey can anyone plz tell me how to convert VCD menus to DVD

I've a VCD with menus. I've already converted the movie into DVD format but i m not able to add the same menus that are there in the VCD.

Any help will be appreciated.

[mats.hogberg]

IIRC, a VCD menu is just an ordinary mpg - use that as the DVD menu background, then build the functionality "on top" of that. How, depends on what authoring app you use.

/Mats

[Cornucopia]

VCD menus are based on MPG1, but they're also not plain MPG1 system streams either.

#1 They're mastered on the VCD as XA Mode2 sectors, so you'll have to do the same Mode2 ripping/extraction method you should do with AVSEQ Tracks. Best thing is to just rip the whole VCD with VCDEasy's VCDXrip tool (frontend to VCDImager VCDXrip). That way, you'll get all the elements, with all the mode2 crap removed.

#2 Most "Hi-Rez" Menus are actually dual-multiplexed. There is: A Padding Stream, A LowRez stream (352x240, ID0), and a HiRez stream (704x480, ID1). You'll want to demux the HiRez stream for use in DVD Menus (704 is supported). Once Demuxed, this'll be an elementary MPG1 video stream, which should be importable into DVD Authoring apps.

If they aren't directly importable, open the menu in VirtualDub and save as a Pic and encode to MPEG2 DVD Menu settings (yeah, there would be some quality loss though).

(Have done all this before, so I know it does work)

HTH,
Scott

[zhakas]

Thank-you very much.
I will surely give it a try.

[zhakas]

I dont know whats going wrong but i cannot do it.
Any other solutions?

[Cornucopia]

I just tested it exactly as I wrote it, and it (.m1v) imported fine in DVD Maestro. What authoring app are you using?

Give us version #'s, etc...

Scott

[zhakas]

i use Ulead DVD Movie Factory 4

can u plz explain the process in detail again.

sorry for the inconvinience.

[roma_turok]

Or simple play VCD in PowerDVD and make Capture bmp image file.

[Cornucopia]

Or simple play VCD in PowerDVD and make Capture bmp image file.

If you do that, you're having to recompress to MPEG again, losing some quality (though not too much).

***************************


Steps (assuming you ALREADY have a VCD with Menus):

A. Get VCDEasy. Last freeware was, IIRC, v1.1.52. Now is up to 3.1.0. I have that and it works great--worth the ~$25.

B. [Tools | (S)VCD Build/Rip tab | "Disassemble a (S)VCD disc" item] all variation options unchecked. You'll get the CD's files in the destination directory (or child folders of that), as well as an XML of the structure/layout.

C. Get TMPGEnc (this part works in Demo mode even).

D. [File | MPEG Tools | Demultiplex tab]. Open the menu you want (have to do it one at a time). If you don't know for sure which menu you want, you could look at the XML structure of the disc (in a text editor) to find out.

E. [Double-click] on the 704x480 stream (they're labelled), and Save with suggested name. Will be *.m1v.

F. This should be importable into your authoring app (if it supports elementary streams).

G. If UDMF4 doesn't support E.S. (and I think that may be the case), you continue with TMPGEnc MPEGTools, this time doing a "Multiplex" on each elementary stream (make sure you don't name it the same as the original menu MPEG). Use "MPEG1 System (automatic)" stream type. Save as *.mpg

That should work.

Good luck,

Scott

[roma_turok]

I run test and its absolute no quality lost both identical.

[zhakas]

Thanxxx

[zhakas]

i can use the .mpg as only background. Can i use it as the menu and use the buttons on it

[mats.hogberg]

No - create new DVD menu buttons using the DVD authoring app.

/Mats

[roma_turok]

i can use the .mpg as only background. Can i use it as the menu and use the buttons on it

yes you can.

[mats.hogberg]

I didn't even know threre was buttons on a VCD menu...

/Mats

[Cornucopia]

i can use the .mpg as only background. Can i use it as the menu and use the buttons on it

yes you can.

no, you can't. at least "as directly taken from the vcd".

A good vcd menu would have selection items that can be accessed via # on the keypad, and by "hotspot" via a mouse (for computers only or for CDi). You might could translate those same "regions" that the hotspots are sensitive to, and make similar DVD button activation regions. But there is, AFAIK, NO app/script that allows automated conversion between the 2.

Scott

[roma_turok]

i can use the .mpg as only background. Can i use it as the menu and use the buttons on it

yes you can.

no, you can't. at least "as directly taken from the vcd".

A good vcd menu would have selection items that can be accessed via # on the keypad, and by "hotspot" via a mouse (for computers only or for CDi). You might could translate those same "regions" that the hotspots are sensitive to, and make similar DVD button activation regions. But there is, AFAIK, NO app/script that allows automated conversion between the 2.

Scott

I write about manual conversion, not automated.

[zhakas]

How can i convert them manually.

[Cornucopia]

I already gave you the basic process for the background.

If you want to know about hotspots, here is an example of an XML script from an authored (and ripped) VCD...

      <selection id="selection-12"> 
         <bsn>1</bsn> 
         <prev ref="selection-09" x1="0" y1="0" x2="0" y2="0"/> 
         <return ref="selection-09" x1="0" y1="0" x2="0" y2="0"/> 
         <wait>-1</wait> 
         <loop jump-timing="immediate">1</loop> 
         <play-item ref="segment-0011"/> 
         <select ref="selection-44" x1="0" y1="70" x2="255" y2="103"/> 
         <select ref="selection-42" x1="0" y1="104" x2="255" y2="137"/> 
         <select ref="selection-45" x1="0" y1="137" x2="255" y2="170"/> 
      </selection>

X and Y 1 are the origin points (counting from topmost, leftmost) and X and Y 2 are the destination points. It is a 8bit percentage of the screen size (0=0%, 255=100%).
So 4 buttons splitting up a screen into 4 clickable quadrants would be something like:

<select ref="selection buttontopleft" X1="0" Y1="0" X2="127" Y2="127"/>
<select ref="selection buttontopright" X1="128" Y1="0" X2="255" Y2="127"/>
<select ref="selection buttonbottomleft" X1="0" Y1="128" X2="127" Y2="255"/>
<select ref="selection buttonbottomright" X1="128" Y1="128" X2="255" Y2="255"/>

You'll just have to manually READ the code, and design the DVD buttons accordingly yourself, doing it manually in the authoring app of your choice (however that app says you're supposed to make buttons). This will have to be "AS-CLOSE-AS-YOU-CAN-GET-IT".

You WON'T be able to convert "subpicture" button material, because there is no such thing as a subpicture in VCD-land--just the background and the hotspot. Nor is there any off/selected/activate tri-state design.

Scott

[zhakas]

Cornucopia thank u very much....
I really appreciate your help...